A Pokemon Story: Flying Free
by Chars of the Past
Summary: A frail Bug type recalls his adventures with his master, from the moment of his capture to the end of his journey.


I can still remember that day clearly. The day everything started for me. The day that I would become part of something big. Something important.

Back then, I used to be just a young Caterpie living through life, without a care in the world.

…Okay, maybe a little care.

But still, I can picture those days perfectly.

I never really had parents. Like the other Caterpie's children, our parents left our eggs here so we can grow in an area with lots of leaves to munch on, so that we can become Butterfree just like them. I remember just lazing around each day, just snacking on leaves near my home in the trees. Oh, the good ol' days.

I remember my best friend, Weedle. We didn't really do anything exciting, just talk and eat. Oh, and hide from the Pidgey and Pidgeotto. That's important, as those birds would swoop down and eat one of us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Yeah, me and Weedle had fun together. That is, until the day he evolved. When he became Kakuna, I couldn't talk to him anymore. He became more aggressive and self-centered, so I just backed away whenever I saw him. The last time I saw him, I think he was a Beedrill. I wonder how he is doing. Probably better than I am.

Anyways, that marked the point where I decided something that most Pokemon probably don't do: I decided that I wouldn't evolve. I know, it sounds crazy. Why would a Pokemon not want to evolve? Isn't it natural to want to become stronger?

Well, I just did not want to change. I didn't want to give up this life that I have always lived. I didn't want to grow up and leave.

But those plans were disrupted after something happened. One day, I was just wandering about, looking for some fresh leaves to eat, when suddenly, a Pikachu starts running towards me, electricity flying! It was strange, as the Pikachu of the forest were never aggressive towards anyone, but maybe the birds.

Anyways, I could hear someone shouting "Thundershock" to the Pikachu, and before I knew it, I was being electrified by that rat! Or mouse, I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings, would I?

After that, something bonked me on the head, and before I knew it, I was stuck in some small space. I couldn't move. I struggled to get free, but I was too exhausted to break out. Finally, I heard a click, and everything went black.

When I could see again, three Pokemon were standing above me. I remember the fear that coursed through my body when I met them. The Pikachu that shocked me was there, a Pidgeotto was there – you wouldn't believe how scared I was – and a strange lizard Pokemon was there also. I recognized the other two, as they were Pokemon commonly found in these woods, but that lizard? It was red, with a fiery tail. I didn't know at the time, but it was a Charmander. I have never seen one before, but that fire made me nervous. Bugs don't do well against fire. Believe me, I know, fire hurts!

Then, a human came over and knelled down before me. He sprayed something on me, I think a Potion, and it stung! Really badly! I almost spit some String Shot in his eyes, but the other Pokemon held me down before that could happen.

"Hi there," the human said to me. "I'm your new trainer. Nice to meet you, Caterpie." From his tone, I could tell he was being sincere. But what's this about him being my trainer? Did I just get captured? But, why me? Why not some other Caterpie in this forest? There's hundreds of us!

"Anyways, Caterpie, welcome to the team," he continued. He gestured over to his three Pokemon. "This red one is Charmander. The mouse is Pikachu, but you probably knew that already. And the bird is Pidgeotto. From now on, you're part of my team. Let's work together, shall we?"

I didn't know what to do. I've never talked to non-Bug types before. Also, I've never met a human before. Should I be happy? Should I be scared? I didn't know what to do.

The human left me and his Pokemon and shuffled through his bag. If memory serves me right, he was setting up camp for the night. It wasn't even noon, yet he was putting his tent up. My first impression of my master was not very good, to say the least.

But, since he did that, the other Pokemon came over to introduce themselves properly.

The Pikachu was first. "Hi! Sorry about shocking you earlier. You know, master's orders and all." He was very jittery, something I did not expect most Electric types to be. But they are. At least the ones I know of. "I'm Pikachu!"

"Um…" I replied. "I'm Caterpie."

"Nice to meet you, Caterpie!" He smiled at me. I guess he was happy to have a new friend.

But the other two did not seem to be as excited. In fact, the Pidgeotto glared at me and the Charmander didn't even seem to care.

"Hmph!" I heard the Charmander grunt. "Why did master have to get some stupid bug?"

"Come on, Charmander!" At least Pikachu cared about me. "Don't be so rude! He's our newest member, after all!"

"I agree with Charmander, Pikachu," I heard the Pidgeotto say. "He won't be a vital part of our team. I expect master to toss him aside before we even get to the gym."

Even though I didn't understand anything they were saying about gyms and stuff, that got to me. Hard. The thought that I was only caught just to be cast aside, like some toy.

"Don't say that, Pidgeotto! I'm sure master won't do that."

"He's going to do it." That Charmander really got on my nerves. "If he's going to be the best, then he has to have the best Pokemon. Bugs are not ideal for the strongest team."

"W-what are you talking about?" I asked. To be honest, my heart was sinking in despair after hearing those two's words.

"You heard me, pest. You're just a temporary tool, used until a better offer comes along."

Man, I hated Charmander. He was always full of himself. But I can get what he was saying. According to the Pokemon League, Bug types are statistically the worst in the entire world.

But back then, I didn't know that. So what I did was lash out at him, like the idiot I am. "Don't call me a pest!"

Pikachu ran in between us before we could start fighting. It was good too, or else my butt would've been burned. "Stop it, you two! Be friendly! We're friends here, right?"

"Right," Charmander grumbled.

"Sorry," I apologized.

Pikachu only smiled. "It's okay, Caterpie. Charmander's just a jerk."

"I'm right here."

"I know." I could tell those two have been with each other for quite a while.

The Pidgeotto walked over to me while Pikachu and Charmander had some kind of argument. At least, I think it was an argument. I could hear yelling erupting from those two. Mostly from Charmander. Those Fire types, being easily worked up.

"Hey, Caterpie." I turned my focus to Pidgeotto. "As long as we're allies, we should be on good terms with each other."

"O-okay." I was extremely nervous. Any second, I thought, he was going to eat me.

He looked over to Pikachu and Charmander. "Those two," he sighed. "Pikachu's the most friendliest guy you'll meet, and that Charmander always thinks he's better than everyone. If you're smart, you won't pay any attention to that lizard's words. They're meaningless gibberish."

"Well, what if he's right? What if this 'master' decides to cast me aside?"

"Then he isn't a true trainer. A trainer always sticks with his Pokemon, no matter what. That's what I've learned from my experiences."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been with countless trainers from his town of Pallet. And none of them met my standards, so I just left them."

I couldn't believe my ears. "You left them?!"

"Yeah. And it was easy too. But our master… he's different. He's not the type to give up on anybody. So I chose to be on this team. Whether he's worthy or not is up to me to decide."

I could hear Pikachu's laughter from here. Granted, we weren't far from them, but Charmander was yelling pretty loudly. I wonder how our trainer didn't hear him.

"Don't worry, Caterpie. You'll be safe here with us."

"T-thanks." I didn't know how to feel. Relieved? Happy? I was just snatched away from my home, but I felt happy for some reason. Was it having new friends? Was it being important to my master, my new friends?

"Anyways, Caterpie, you'd better get yourself ready."

"Ready? For what?"

"Master's most likely going to train you a bit tomorrow before we reach Pewter City. Don't worry, just some sparring, just to build trust between the two of you."

"S-sparring? As in battling? But I've never fought in my life!"

Pidgeotto only laughed. "Well, you'll learn. He'll teach you how to fight, and we'll be there to help you. Don't worry, you'll be just fine. And who knows? Maybe you'll even evolve tomorrow. Caterpie grow fast."

"E-evolve?" My body started shivering right there.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a Gastly."

"I-I don't want to evolve. I just don't."

I think Charmander heard me clear enough to make out my words. He marched right over to me after I said that. But who can blame me? I didn't want to evolve.

"You don't want to evolve? What kind of Pokemon are you?"

Pikachu also came over. "Hey, Charmander, take it ea-"

"Shut up, rodent! This goes to you, too! What kind of Pokemon doesn't want to evolve? What Pokemon doesn't want to get stronger?"

Pidgeotto came to my defense. "Charmander, calm down. This doesn't concern you."

"Yes it does!" His tail flame started burning like mad! I cowered behind Pidgeotto. I never expected I would do that in my life. "If these two brats are going to be in our team, then they have to face it! They need to evolve to become stronger! I refuse to work with babies."

"Then stop being one." Everyone looked over at me, like I just said something wrong. Pikachu snickered, Pidgeotto prepped for something, and Charmander got furious.

"What did you just say, punk?" he asked as he stomped over to me. Pidgeotto flew upwards to escape from the upcoming brawl. I didn't blame him. If I could fly, I would've done the same.

"I said, "Stop being one"."

Charmander picked me up from the sides, leveling my face with his. "Why you little-"

"Hey, guys! Lunch time!"

He threw me to the floor and mumbled something as he walked over to master. "Stupid bug."

Pikachu helped me get up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, master got our food ready. Want to eat?"

"Uh, sure." Me and Pikachu walked over to the master together. "So, you don't want to evolve either?"

"Yeah. I want to prove that I can be strong the way I am now, instead of going the way everyone else does. Besides, evolution changes everything about you. The way your mind thinks, the way you feel, everything. I know. I used to be a Pichu before."

"I see…"

"But why don't you want to evolve? I'm sure being a Butterfree would be more fun than being a Caterpie. Raichu isn't as fun as Pikachu, that's for sure."

"I just don't."

Just then, I heard master call out to us again. "Hey, Pikachu, Caterpie, come here before Charmander steals all of your food!"

After that, we rushed over to him. I remember looking around for some freshly picked leaves to eat, but found nothing. Only bowls of weird brown pellets. And I was shocked when I saw everyone eating them. I didn't know they were food. I thought it might have been something else.

Master gave me a bowl, smiled, and said, "Eat up. We've got a long day ahead of us."

I remember staring at the food, wondering if it was really safe to eat. I sniffed it first, and took a little bite. It didn't seem poisonous, and the taste was tolerable, so I ate it all. It tasted just like the leaves I used to eat. But felt more filling that the leaves.

"Hey Caterpie," he said to me. "Do you want to train for a little? I want to see what you can do."

I gulped. I didn't know how to battle, and he was expecting me to be good, or at least know what I was doing. All I know is how to shoot string out of my mouth. That's it! Besides tackling people, but all Pokemon must know how to do that!

The next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of a battlefield, facing that stupid Charmander. Master was looking at some strange red box, mumbling words to himself.

"Let's see… Caterpie know the moves Tackle and String Shot only…"

I was nervous. Charmander was grinning, probably due to the thought of incinerating my body into thousands of piles of ash, and then scattering it throughout the forest just to get his revenge.

"Okay, Caterpie, follow my commands. That's how Pokemon battles work!" I don't understand why humans have Pokemon battles. I've heard countless times that we are their best friends, so why do they make us fight? Some Pokemon might know, but no one really told me anything. "Caterpie, use String Shot!"

I instantly recognized that move. I spewed the string out of my mouth and launched it at Charmander. It was hilarious, watching the rope tangled around him, restricting his movement. I got some pleasure out of that!

"Okay, now, Tackle!" I knew what Tackle was, but I didn't really consider it some kind of special move. So I ran with all of my might (which was barely even the speed of a Slowpoke) and crashed my head into Charmander's tangled body.

…Let's just say, master was proud of me, but probably thought I was stupid for crashing into the sticky part of the string. I know I felt like a total idiot. He had to rip me off of Charmander himself.

But still, I felt pretty proud of myself. Sure, it wasn't really a battle, but I learned that all I know is what a Caterpie should know. How to tackle, and how to shoot string. At least I was at the standard I was supposed to be.

That night, he didn't bring us into our Pokeballs, as Pikachu told me they were called. It was the thing I was crammed into earlier that day. He told me that master was the kind of trainer to never confine us into our balls unless we're in an official Pokemon battle. At least I could enjoy the freedom of being outside instead of being restricted in that space again. That was the worst experience of my life!

I had troubles sleeping, fearing that Charmander was going to get up and kill me in my sleep. I felt that he was the type to hold a grudge. A bad grudge, possibly for decades.

I looked up at the moon constantly. I saw some Pokemon flying overhead. I imagined what it would be like to be up there, but remembered that I would have to change. I remember thinking whether it might be worth it or not, to evolve. I was sure that I wouldn't change that much. Hopefully I didn't.

Anyways, the next morning, we left the forest. I lived on the edge, so I was sure that master was already near the intended exit.

After traveling for a bit, we stumbled across Pewter City. I've never seen a city before, so master took time to let it all sink in for me. The bustling lights, the tall buildings. Everything amazed me. Everything was different from the world I knew. The one of trees and grass.

We walked down to the streets and stood in front of some strange building. There were rocks lining the entrance, and beyond the sliding doors, I could see a rocky field in a large room.

Pikachu nudged me as I tried to figure out what this was. "Hey, Caterpie. This is a gym. Trainers come to the gyms in each town to get a badge, and when they get eight badges, they are able to enter the Pokemon League."

"Really?"

Pikachu moved his hand across his chest twice. "Cross my heart. I'm not lying."

I remember master adjusted his hat and took a deep breath. Charmander did the same thing. "Okay guys, let's go in."

The five of us walked into the gym, and were greeted by an odd fellow. It was a statue that talked. It took me about three gyms before Pikachu told me that there was a speaker and camera inside and the statue was not actually alive.

"Are you here to face the gym leader, Brock?"

"Of course."

"Name?"

"Red, from Pallet Town."

"Okay, Red of Pallet Town. You may proceed. Just a hint, Brock's specialty is Rock types. Rock types hate water and grass, but can endure flames and most physical attacks."

"I know." Master sounded pretty confident of himself. But I wasn't. We had only four Pokemon, none of them with any strengths against Rock types. They were also another type I didn't like.

Suddenly, everything went dark. He put us back into our Pokeballs. I guessed that this was one of those "official" matches Pikachu talked about.

I just sat in my ball, with nothing to do. I could only hope that I wouldn't be sent out, because I was not good with Rock types. Bugs get squished easily.

I could hear faint sounds coming from outside my ball. I heard master, and Charmander, and some kid and a Sandshrew fighting against each other. I wished that I could see a real Pokemon battle take place. If I have to battle, I at least would want to see how strong I have to be.

The next thing I heard was the voice of the gym leader Brock. I knew because he introduced himself to master before starting the match. I think that's what most trainers do when they start battles.

Anyways, I think master could only use two Pokemon in this gym. I don't know who he chose, but I hoped that I was not one of them.

I know the first one was Charmander. He sent him out against a Geodude, who fell pretty quickly, judging from the cries. Just how strong is that Charmander? Can his flames burn even the hardest of Rocks?

But the next Pokemon let out a loud roar. I didn't know it at the time, but it was an Onix. I shivered in my ball when I heard that roar.

And the next thing I knew, I was out of my ball. Charmander had gotten scared and retreated into his ball, I thought. But it really was just because Onix used Roar on him. And that revealed that I was the master's second choice. Why me? Pidgeotto would've been the better choice. He was more experienced, and more powerful. And most of all, he was evolved!

I cowered down, hoping that the Onix would take pity on me and refrain from attacking. But Brock didn't feel like sparing me. "Hah! A Caterpie! Is that all you had?"

I was ready to give up. I wanted to throw in the white flag. But then I heard master shout. "Don't underestimate him! I believe he can do it!"

His words filled my heart with joy. I didn't think he would believe in me so much. And that helped me get into the fighting spirit.

"Now, Caterpie, String Shot!"

I did what I was told. I launched my web onto the Onix, who got all tangled up, just like Charmander the other day. Only this time, he had no arms to restrict.

"Onix! Tackle attack!" The Onix threw his body at me and was about to squish me.

"Caterpie! Use your String Shot to get out of the way!" I aimed my string at the wall and quickly pulled my body away from the Onix. And that giant rock snake came crashing down to the ground, having missed his target. I could feel the tremors caused by his body. "Now, Tackle!" I almost did the same thing as I did to Charmander, but then I had an idea. One that master probably did not think of.

First I shot a web over to the wall between me and Onix. Then, with all of my might, I pulled on it and sent my body charging faster than yesterday, causing more damage to the Onix than I would've otherwise.

I remember having a terrible headache, as an Onix's body was rock solid, but that didn't stop me. I was determined to help my master win. I was determined to prove a little bug like me can make it in the Pokemon League.

"Caterpie, great hit! Keep it up!" I did it again and again, hitting the Onix with all of my might. With the speed my body was flying, it couldn't even hit me! Along with my little pieces of damage, I also made sure the webs would stick to the Onix to render him more and more immobile.

Eventually, after the whole field was covered in my String Shot, it was over. Onix had fainted after my tackling spree, and we won against Brock.

I remember feeling proud of myself, that I just beat something that I wouldn't have been able to. I remember master picking me up and lifting me into the air in celebration.

"Alright, Red. Here." Brock walked over to us and gave master a shiny gem. "Here is the Boulder Badge. You deserve it."

"Thanks." He put the badge on the inside of his vest. It didn't really seem like a safe place to store it, but it was a place to store it, I guess.

We walked out of the gym and he released everyone else from their balls. I remember Charmander was angry that I stole the glory from him, while Pikachu and Pidgeotto were impressed that I managed to defeat an Onix all by myself.

"You know, I would've won that battle much sooner than you could've."

"Shut up Charmander," Pikachu told him. "You did good, Caterpie. Great job!"

"Thanks!"

Master picked me up and inspected my forehead. I think he was concerned about all the tackling I did. "Hey, let's go to the Pokemon Center. I want to make sure that head of yours is okay." He carried me in his arms as he and the others walked over to a large building with a red roof. The sign said "PC", but I didn't know what that meant.

"Psst! Caterpie!" Pikachu was whispering to get my attention. "This is the Pokemon Center. It's where trainers are able to stay and heal up their Pokemon."

A pink-haired woman in a nurse's outfit was standing behind a counter. Next to her was a Chansey. "Welcome to the pokemon Center. My name is Nurse Joy."

"Hi, Nurse Joy," master said. "Can you do a quick check up on my Caterpie? We just finished up at the gym, and I want to make sure that he's alright. Oh, also, here's my Charmander. Please take care of him too." He handed both me and Charmander over to the nurse.

"Okay, just wait right here. We'll check up on them in a jiffy." She took both of us into the back room and put us on a bed.

She started with Charmander, checking his pulses and stuff. She fed him a blue berry, possibly an Oran Berry, but I didn't really pay attention, and turned her attention to me. She put her soft hand on my forehead and took a little bit to find any injuries. She identified some minor scratches and patched them up with some bandages.

She carried us both out of the room and brought us back to the lobby, where master was sitting with Pikachu and Pidgeotto.

"Here you go. Your Caterpie and Charmander are in perfect health now."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy."

The nurse walked away from us to tend to other guests.

"So Caterpie, how're you feeling?" I smiled at master, hoping that he would know that I'm fine. Pokemon can't really talk to humans, after all. "That's great," he sighed. "I'm going to make a call real quick. Be good with each other, okay?"

Master walked away to some boxes on some tables, and talked to some woman on the screen. She kinda looked like him.

"Hey, Caterpie." Charmander was demanding my presence. I breathed in, knowing that I will probably hear about how he should have all the glory and how the victory should have been his. But all he did was put his hand on my shoulder. "Good job, bug. You did good."

We smiled at each other. "Thanks."

"You know, maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe you have what it takes after all."

Those words went straight into my heart. I finally know why I felt happy. Why I didn't want to run away when given the freedom to.

It's because I was wanted here. No, not wanted, needed. I found my place to belong. I found a place to call my home.

I have no regrets over starting my journey with master and my friends. None.

* * *

**Sniff.**

A whisper spoke softly into my ear. "…This wasn't supposed to happen… I'm sorry…"


End file.
